One thing I just noticed, if it is really quiet in the room is it normal to notice a very slight hum, it definetly doesn't sound like it coming from the speaker. And it does it even if it's not hooked up and turned off. It's not noticeable unless close to the sub when it's real quiet. I figure it's just the power supply humming a bit or something.

I think someone else could probably answer this better than me. I think it's a 60 cycle hum from the plug in to the wall. Try unplugging the speaker cable, does it still make the hum? Maybe the cable is not sheilded properly. My 350 seems to keep shutting itself off after about 3 mins of not getting a signal. which is isnt' suppose to do.. should wait 15 mins i think.... but that's a whole other problem.

Is this the movie that you heard in the CC demo room? Or is this the one that had popping in your house? Was it rapid popping like a machine gun? Or was it loud pops spaced apart?

The reason is, this movie has some serious problems with the Dolby Digital soundtrack. When we had it running as a demo, the entire soundroom would go silent and pop back in every few seconds. Onkyo even posted a notice on their website because so many people were having problems with it. The remedy is to use the DTS soundtrack instead, but that movie may explain some of your problems. Especially if that was the movie in the demo room, because that would explain why you didn't think it was the sub with the problems.

The humming: yes, that is normal, and your assumption is correct, it's just the power supply humming. I one called up polk, because I noticed the same thing on my 350 and Ken (the polk guru) explained to me exactly what was making the noise, but I've forgoten since then.

I don't think it's the movie, because I have noticed it when turning up music really really loud, I think it's just more prevalent in JP3 because the bass hits really really low at times. I've never noticed it with my front speakers set to large and no subwoofer. So they would have been getting the .1 part of the sound and they don't pop. I pretty sure it's not the movie, but I'm going to take it easy on my new one and try some other movies before I decide to send it back or not. I was thinking maybe it's my fault if there was something wrong with my first sub. The first thing I did with it was turn it up all the way pop in JP3 and turn the sound way up to see what it could do. I didn't know about breaking it in or anything. Maybe I messed it up right from the beginning. They should put some warnings in the manual to take it easy at first if that is what the sub needs for those of us that are not well informed.

Hey don't let Russman and now troyD get you down, it seems that thier sole purpose in life is to put down other people so that they can feel better about thier own short comings. Please, if you guys want these morons to go away then don't respond to their **** posts and allow them to pull you into a pissing match.

Originally posted by MxStYlEpOlKmAn sounds like me and computer speakers...turn them all the way up and leave them that way...i've gone through 2 pairs of computer speaker sin the past year or so...lol...or to my third one...lol

by the way...speakers, amps, receivers, subs, etc all need break in periods before you blast them...just a note i might add

I have heard this before. If this is true why does the owners manual not have any mention of this. Could the people at Polk shed some light on this issue?

Mabey if the user is advised officially of the potential hazzards of not breaking in speakers properly, perhaps a lot of grief and shipping charges can be avoided.

There has been a great deal of discussion on speaker break-in, and the jury is still pretty much out as to whether this provides any real sonic benefit.

The AVS forum had a big discussion on it and some testers ran a bunch of detailed and in-depth studies of frequency response, dispersion, distortion, etc., before and after break-in, and also when the speaker was "cold" (i.e., not running for a while) vs. "hot" (had been running for hours). The data was inconclusive, as many of the parameters tested changed slightly during extended operation (for both new and broken-in) and then returned to the "baseline" again after the speaker cooled down.

I can't tell on my system, but then again my electronics (and maybe my ears) aren't world class either.

Anyway, with respect to subs, the surround might be a little stiff when very new, and this will loosen up a bit over time. However, the relative compliance of the surround will not alter the ultimate excursion limits of the driver, which are dictated by the point at which the voice coil bottoms in the magnet assembly. This is more than likely the sound you are (were) hearing on JP III.

If you like the sound of the PSW450, buy another one (maybe from Mantis) and stack them and run a Y splitter. You can run each sub at a lower volume, and avoid bottoming while still maintaining the same or even louder overall SPL, while at the same time get lower distortion and a more effortless quality to the bass.

Dr. Spec,
why would you want to stack two subwoofers? I am thinking of adding a second sub to go along with my 350.. it probably would not be another 350.. it would be something bigger. I was thinking of putting one in each corner of the rear of the room. to me that seems to make the most sense in getting the best and most bass response.
your thoughts? thanks

I know this is completely off the subject, but I though some of you guys would know. I just got a Onkyo TX-SR600 receiver and I've noticed some slight popping or static noises when adjusting the volume up or down while watching movies. It just a slight sound that happens just when adjusting volume sometimes, not that noticeable. I think I've heard receivers do that before, is it normal? Thanks for the feedback. By the way my new Polk sub popped loudly too. I think everyone is right, I just need a bigger better sub, I was just bottoming out the PSW450. I'm going to look around for something else. I notice Polk just came out with a couple new sub's, anyone try these out yet?

i would recomend a velo cht 12 or a 15 if you want to spend the extra bucks i have a velo ct120 and it is so sweet once i got ot broke in i have never ran out of bass and i have a large room 16x25 and the sub is not corner loaded and the room is open to the rest of the basement

It's brand new, and I don't think that is what it is because it does it with the remote and the volume knob isn't turning. Like I said it's very slight, it's not that noticable I probabaly shouldn't worry about it anyway.

Stacking the two subs will provide a 6 dB increase in SPL, and avoid any potential phase problems.

Placing them in different locations will only provide a 3 dB increase (on average) in SPL and may require phase adjustment.

Also, they look very cool stacked and are easier to connect. I owned two stacked PSW350's at one time and I was very impressed with the results when I added the second sub.

The only reason I sold them is because they don't dig lower than about 32-35 Hz and there are a few DVDs out there with significant signal content in the 20-30 Hz range. I have a SVS 20-39 PC+ on order, and am making due with the Advent set-up described in my by-line.

rsmith4321
it it was me.. i'd check out the problem.. there shouldn't be any noise or static coming from your volume knob. it's very strange when you use the remote that it happens. talk to other Onkyo owners and see if they have similar problems with their receivers of the same model. good luck